A Jamaican man was recently extradited to the United States to face charges stemming from a romantic fraud that targeted an elderly Arizona woman, police reported Wednesday.
The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona reported that Sherwayne Benjamin Bellinfantie, also known as “Ice Man,” and his accomplices defrauded an 85-year-old resident of Vail out of $400,000.
Vail is a Pima County community located southeast of Tucson.
According to prosecutors, Bellinfantie and his co-conspirators targeted the victim in a romance and sweepstakes fraud that ran from December 2015 to January 2019.
What led up to extradition of Jamaican romance scam suspect?
In March 2022, a federal grand jury in Tucson accused Bellinfante of charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering.
If convicted, he could serve up to 20 years in federal prison for each charge.
Bellinfantie was apprehended in Jamaica in July 2023 and extradited last week. His arraignment and detention hearing are set for Monday morning.
Arizona has one of the country’s highest rates of online romance scam losses, with residents reportedly losing $47 million in 2022 and 2023.
“Unfortunately, they prey on folks who might be lonely,” Kevin Smith of the FBI Phoenix office told KTAR News 92.3 FM last year. “They tend to develop a online relationship whereby the victim feels they’re in a relationship with this person.”